Warm Rain
by lena4
Summary: Is Inu-Yasha dead or alive? Is he having a premonition or watching his past? The next (and final chapter) is up now, for those who want to know what's going on ^^
1. Confusion

Author's Notes:  I am going to refrain from interjecting Japanese phrases and words because this is English, and not everyone who reads these will know Japanese.  The only thing Japanese that I'm putting in here are the titles of each of the characters, or what each character calls each other (ex: Kaede= Kaede-baabaa [by Inu-Yasha], Kaede-obaasan [by Kagome], etc.).  I'm doing this because there really isn't any good way to translate these into English (or at least not any way that won't get criticized).  They are not that hard to figure out if you don't know them, so hopefully I won't alienate anyone by doing this.  Comments or questions can be sent to lena_iy@hotmail.com. 

Mild language, violence, graphic descriptions.

Warm Rain

Chapter 1:  Confusion

He could hear her frantic screaming.

"Inu-Yasha!  Look at me!  Inu-Yasha!"

He responded to her voice and turned his head toward the sound.  A warm feeling rushed through him, intermingled with a strange chill.  He opened his eyes.

"Inu-Yasha!"  Sobs cracked into her voice, and he could hear her gasping in between breaths.    
He looked at her figure, which he could barely make out because of the rain falling in his eyes.  _Warm rain_…he thought.  He squinted, trying to squeeze all of the water out.  He opened his eyes again.  Everything was enveloped in a strange haze.  He tried to clear his thoughts, but it seemed as if the fog had clouded his mind, also.  _What's going on_? he thought.  _I can't_…

Suddenly a violent, choking sensation welled up in his throat.  He tried to gag, but felt a warm, liquid in the back of his throat and on his tongue.  He couldn't breathe, and started to choke.  

"Inu-Yasha!"  Her voice became distant, fading into the blur of scenery and darkness.  His rasping was the only sound he could hear now, and one of the two senses that seemed to take over everything, the other being taste.  And he could only taste one thing now.

Blood.

_What's happening_? his mind raced.  _What happened_?  He tried to recount what he could, but everything was just bits and pieces of incoherent flashes and thoughts that seemed to jumble around in his head, until finally everything stopped in one bright moment of clarity.

_I'm dying_.

It was a shocking revelation, and he struggled to fight against the sinking feeling he felt in his chest.  He frantically tried to swallow the bitter fluid that had welled up in his mouth, but it only forced its way back up.  He closed his eyes tighter against the ferocious rain pelting his face like razors, and forced a cry with all of his breath against the blood that came running back down his throat.

"Kagome!" he choked out, although it was barely audible in the thundering wind and rain raging around them.

A wave of pain paralyzed him for a moment, flooding his face with crushing feeling that blacked everything out for a few moments.  He gasped for air, but only continued to drown himself by sucking fluid back into his lungs.  _Why?!!_ his thoughts screamed out desperately to be heard.

Suddenly everything slowed down- images, feelings, sensations that had all been racing just a few moments before crept down do a crawl, and the haze settled over everything once again.  The pain subsided to warm rush that enveloped his body.  Sounds became muffled and faint, and then almost non-existent.  He looked around to his side, everything moving in a slow, frame-like sequence.  Dark silhouettes glided back and forth like ghosts against a darkening sky.  One of the apparitions flew up in front of his eyes, her figure sharpening a moment before losing focus again, her face dark against her even darker hair that flew around with a sort of calm, quintessential grace that had a calming effect on him.  

_Kagome.  _

Tears crept down her cheeks, leaving tiny, translucent trails on her dark face.  Several tears pooled up on the bottom of her chin, collecting together until their weight pulled them down.  The drop of water landed on Inu-Yasha's face, it's warmth comforting to his dulling senses.

He watched her form sway softly as everything faded out, consumed by the shadows that were rapidly closing in.  A heavy, serene feeling blanketed him, engulfing him in the darkness.  _Kagome_, he thought again.  _I_…

His thoughts trailed off and he sunk deep within himself.

Inu-Yasha waited impatiently by the well.

"How long does it take to get some books?" he mumbled under his breath.

He looked around.  It was a clear day, with only a few white clouds speckling the sky.  A warm breeze blew threw the tops of the trees and rolled through the tall grass like waves.  The sweet smells of spring intermingled in the wind and played together to create an relaxing atmosphere that eased Inu-Yasha's irritation.  He took a deep breath, inhaling some of the perfumed air that danced around him.  As he did so, he felt a strange chill run down his spine.  The feeling of tranquility quickly left him, and he felt strangely cold.

Sounds of gravel and dirt moving from the bottom of the well attracted his attention back to find Kagome grabbing onto the vine that led up the well wall.  She looked up.

"I'm back."  Her smiling face was lit up even at the bottom of the dark well.  "Sorry it took so long."

Inu-Yasha only grunted in response and watched as she made her way up the vine and over the lid of the well.  They started walking back to the village.

"I had to get my books because I have a test the day after tomorrow," Kagome remarked apologetically.

"Whatever," Inu-Yasha replied, "Kaede-baabaa's the one who wanted you, anyway."

They continued the rest of the way without much else to say, Kagome commenting every now and then on her test or the weather, and Inu-Yasha replying succinctly to each remark.

They reached Kaede's hut a short time later.  Kagome was greeted with a hug around the neck by Shippou, who acted as if he hadn't seen her only a few hours earlier.  Kagome walked inside the hut, Shippou still clinging to her shoulder.  Inu-Yasha followed.

"Kaede-obaasan?" She looked around for a moment, her eyes adjusting to the dim light.

"Back already?" The old priestess walked over to her from the other side of the room, her form becoming clearer to Kagome as she came closer.

"I brought the herbs you asked for." Kagome slung her backpack off of her shoulders and unzipped the pouch, producing a handful of leafy shrubs.

"Ah, good," Kaede remarked as she inspected them, "I can't find these since they are out of season now."

 "I'm glad all I have to do is walk down to the store when I need something," Kagome grinned.  She looked over at Inu-Yasha who was now seated on the floor, his gaze focused outside.

"Is something wrong?" Kagome asked him, breaking his concentration.

"Huh?  No, nothing."

"Well, you've just been acting kind of distracted since I got back, and I was wondering if maybe something had happened while I was gone or if I did something…" her voice trailed off.

He shifted for a moment, clearing his head to take in what she had just said.  _Something just doesn't feel right_, he thought to himself, _something's…off…_

He looked back at her, suddenly realizing that she was expecting some sort of answer.

"Nothing's happened, and you didn't do anything.  I'm just…thinking."  His voice was quiet and tired, and she decided it best to not entreat the subject any further.

The day wore on, Kagome helping Kaede prepare some medicines with the herbs she had brought her, and Shippou watching them.  Inu-Yasha stayed quietly off to one side of the room, glancing every now and then at the commotion at the other side, but mainly kept his stare fixed outside.  

_What's this nagging feeling for?_ he thought.  _What's bothering me?_

The light from the outside was eclipsed for a moment as the figures of Miroku and Sango came through the door.  Inu-Yasha's attention was diverted to the two as they walked past.

"You're back already, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked when he spotted her over next to Kaede.  "It doesn't take you long to get anything in your world, does it?"

Kagome grinned.  "How did the extermination go?"

"Pretty routine," Sango said as she propped her Hirakotsu up against the wall.  "I think Houshii-sama swindled the poor people, though I can't prove it."  She glared at him.

Miroku took notice of her stare and glanced away quickly.  "I did no such thing," he stated defensively, "you just weren't there for the price negotiations, so you just suspect the worst."

"Well, I won't not be there again," Sango said, moving towards the door.  "I'm going to go change."  She walked out.

Miroku sighed and took a seat next to Inu-Yasha on the floor.  "I don't understand why no one trusts me."  He looked at Inu-Yasha, who looked as if he hadn't even taken notice that Miroku was next to him.

"Inu-Yasha?" Miroku asked 

Inu-Yasha stirred at the sound of Miroku's voice as if he had just been awakened from a trance.

"What?" he responded.

"Nothing," Miroku answered back, "just- well, you look distracted."

Inu-Yasha shifted uneasily.  "Like I told Kagome earlier, I'm fine.  Nothing's wrong." He said it in a tone that hinted to drop the subject.  Miroku looked at him with a confused look for a second, but then shrugged it off and decided that his time would be better spent watching the ladies across the room.

_Is something wrong?_ Inu-Yasha thought to himself.

While Miroku had conceded to letting the matter lie, Inu-Yasha found himself becoming more and more aware of the strange feeling that something wasn't right.  It wasn't anything that he could see, smell, or touch; it was more that he could just _sense_ something out of the ordinary.  But the frustrating thing was that no matter how hard he tried to put his finger on it, he couldn't for the life of him find out what it was.

_This is stupid, _he decreed to himself, _there's nothing wrong._  _No one but me has acted as if they sensed something strange.  _He decided that he would try to focus his attention to what was going on around him, that maybe it was just his imagination and nothing more.  

He looked over at Kagome who was sitting on the floor across the room helping Kaede crush herbs.  The beams of light that filtered in through the cracks of the walls shone in front of her, creating an ethereal effect that looked as if a haze had settled in the room.  Her features were masked in the shadows that had settled in between the light.

As he watched her, a strange sensation gripped him.

_I've seen this before_, he thought.

He studied her more intensely, trying to figure out what it was that he had triggered this feeling of de jà veux.  After a moment the feeling subsided, but the uneasiness did not.

_Dammit, what's going on?!_  he thought, and frustrated he got up and hurriedly walked out the door.

Inu-Yasha had walked only for a minute until he heard the sound of someone coming up behind him.

"Inu-Yasha?"

He turned to the sound of Kagome's voice and found her jogging to catch up to him.  She stopped when she reached him, a look of concern on her face.

"I know you said that nothing's wrong, but you left so quickly without letting anyone know where, well, I thought…" she trailed off.

Inu-Yasha looked at her for a moment, thinking.  He really couldn't think of any reasons or of any way to explain to her how he was feeling.

"I wish I knew what was wrong."  He searched for words. "But really, there isn't anything wrong.  I guess, I just don't feel like…myself."

She looked confused for a moment, but then shook her head and said, "Well, if there's anything I can help you with, let me know."  She smiled.  "Can I walk with you?"

His tension eased a bit.  "Sure."

They continued in the direction that he had been heading before- no destination, just trying to clear his thoughts.  The gentle breeze from earlier had pick up into a mild wind.  The two walked silently, Kagome to his side but slightly behind, her head down.  He looked at her for a moment.  She seemed troubled by whatever was troubling him, and he could tell that she was trying to figure out an answer by the way she concentrated on her feet.  

He looked up at the sky again, which had since turned gray and clouded.  The wind was growing stronger and had picked up a mild scent of rain and the grass lashed against their legs.  He looked back over at Kagome.  She seemed to have noticed his eyes and looked back up at him, her raven hair flying in front of her face.

Her…hair… 

Suddenly an image flashed in his mind of a dark figure- her dark figure, staring back at him.

She loomed from up above him, her features shadowed and her outline foggy; her hair blew in front of her face with a slow, wraithlike quality.  He looked into the apparition's eyes, clear and translucent, tears puddled in each and streaming down her face.  A tear ran down her cheek and clung to the bottom of her chin for a moment before falling and landing on his face.  Inu-Yasha closed his eyes.

_A warm tear…_he thought.

He reached up to wipe it off his face-

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the field with Kagome, the wind howling around them.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome was yelling at him above the increasing roar of the wind. "We need to get back to village!"

He nodded, still disoriented from the visions he had just seen a few seconds before.  They started running back , racing against the debris and the occasional rain drop to make their way back to the village before the storm finished rolling in.

They reached the village a few minutes later, heading for Kaede's hut.  Right as they made it to the door, a loud crashing sound resonated from the hills behind them.  Inu-Yasha turned around to see what had happened, and watched as a strange blue light flashed from deep within the forests surrounding the village.  It looked like ordinary lightening at first, but then the light faded leaving an ominous red glow over the area.

Miroku, Kaede, and Sango with Shippou clinging to her shoulder ran out of the hut moments later, all of them with their eyes fixed on the wicked glow the pertruded the failing light of dusk like a blood stain seeping into the forest.

"Is it a fire?" Shippou asked, his voice small in the raging wind.

"It isn't a fire," Kaede answered back, "See?  There aren't any flames or smoke."

"Then what could it be?" Sango asked.

"Well, whatever it is, it's growing," Miroku said, "look how fast it's spreading."

"It won't reach the village, will it?"  Shippou's voice quivered.

"What are we going to do if it does?"  Kagome added.

Her question snapped Inu-Yasha out of his stupor.  He recollected his senses and answered, "That's why we're going to go see what happened and stop it before it reaches here." For some reason he couldn't explain, Inu-Yasha felt drawn to the expanding wave of crimson light. 

"But the storm is getting more powerful by the minute," Miroku interjected, "there's no way we'd make it tonight."

"Then I'll go by myself!"

By the look on his face, Miroku could tell that Inu-Yasha was serious about going.

"Fine, I'll go with you," he conceded, "but everyone else should stay here."

"Fine," Inu-Yasha said, "let's go!"

"Hold on a minute," Kagome said, "whoever gave you permission to decide for us?"

"Right," Sango agreed, "I'm not going to stay here while that thing is out there."

Inu-Yasha became frustrated with the sense of urgency he felt.  "Well, whatever!  Stop the chit chat and let's go!"  He turned around and took off.

I'm going to find out what's going on!!!  he thought as he raced towards to light. 

What's going on?  Why are all of these strange things happening?  Well, you'll just have to wait until the next installment comes out *evil laughter*  I hope everyone's enjoyed it this far, and I hope you're interested enough to keep reading.  Hopefully I'll be able to wrap this up in 2 or 3 chapters- I don't know yet.  Any comments or questions, feel free to email me at lena_iy@hotmail.com.


	2. Savior

Author's Notes:  Here is the second and final chapter of this story- I know many people were anxious from the cliffhanger (sorry, I'm a slow writer).  I am going to refrain from interjecting Japanese phrases and words because this is English, and not everyone who reads these will know Japanese.  The only thing Japanese that I'm putting in here are the titles of each of the characters, or what each character calls each other (ex: Kaede= Kaede-baabaa [by Inu-Yasha], Kaede-obaasan [by Kagome], etc.).  I'm doing this because there really isn't any good way to translate these into English (or at least not any way that won't get criticized).  They are not that hard to figure out if you don't know them, so hopefully I won't alienate anyone by doing this.  Comments or questions can be sent to lena_iy@hotmail.com.

Language, violence, graphic descriptions.

Warm Rain 

Chapter 2 :  Savior

Inu-Yasha raced through the forest, the wind and rain beating against him.  Not far ahead of him he could see the mysterious crimson light expanding towards him at an increasing rate.  The closer Inu-Yasha came to the light, the stronger it seemed to beckon to him. 

_This has to be what I'm looking for!!!_ he thought anxiously, and sped up to meet it.

The rest of the group wasn't far behind, but they were struggling to keep up with Inu-Yasha's manic pace.  

"Inu-Yasha!"  Kagome yelled, but her cry fell deaf to the raging storm.

Inu-Yasha was fast approaching the hellish pool when he was suddenly seized by a violent gagging sensation in the back of his throat that started to suffocate him.  He fell to the ground and started choking.  He felt a pressure in his chest that felt as if something heavy was crushing his lungs.  Gasping for air, he tried calling out for help, but only succeeded in strangling himself further.

Then, just as quickly as the sensation had set in, it left again.  As it dissipated, a feeling of warmth blanketed his body and seemed to seep in through his skin.  Heaving deeply, he pulled himself into a crouch and sat still for a moment, his mind racing.

_What the hell just happened to me?!!_ his thoughts screamed.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome's voice resonated against the trees and surrounded the area.  He then noticed that there were no longer the sounds of the rampaging wind or rain.  Looking up quickly he found himself and everything around him bathed in a low scarlet light.  He turned towards the direction that Kagome's voice had originated from, but found no one else there.

"Kagome!" he yelled, "Miroku!  Sango!  Where did you go?!!"

His voice echoed in the hollow clearing with only silence answering him back.  He turned in every direction, trying to catch any sound or a glimpse of anything other than himself, but still there was nothing.  He decided to go back, but then realized that he couldn't tell which direction was which anymore or even where he was.

"Goddammit!!!" he screamed in frustration, "Where the hell is everyone?!  What's going on!  Someone tell me, dammit!"

This time his demand was answered by a rustling sound from behind him.  He spun around quickly to find Kagome, alone, standing several yards from him.

"Inu-Yasha," her voice whispered.

"Kagome!" he started after her, "Do you know what's going on-" he stopped after a few steps after he looked at her.  She was almost translucent, the dark red light seeming to shine through her, her eyes illuminated red against her darkly shadowed face.  Her hair tossed around her face freely as if she were standing in a ferocious wind even though the air was perfectly calm.

"Inu-Yasha," she repeated.

He started walking towards her, his arm outstretched.

"Kagome, you're-"

He looked into her eyes, elucidated and clear, almost beckoning him to her.  As he approached her, his focus shifted from her to his outstretched arm.  As he did, he noticed that his arm bathed in the soft red light.  But as he looked closer, he realized that his arm wasn't just covered in the red light, but that it was covered in blood.

The sudden sound of Kagome's frantic screaming snapped his attention back in front of him.  She was now standing there crying uncontrollably, her sobbing voice sending a familiar chill through him.

"Inu-Yasha!  Look at me!  Inu-Yasha!"

He watched the tears run down her soft glowing cheeks and the non-existent wind flip her hair violently back and forth.  Even though her figure was somewhat hazy in the strange light, her eyes clearly betrayed the pain and helplessness she was feeling.

_I've seen this before!!_

His thoughts raced in confusion as he tried to make connections between the shades of memories that slipped around in his head and what he was seeing.  He looked back at the figure of Kagome running towards him with her arm stretched out, grasping towards him.

"Inu-Yasha!  Please!"

She faded as she approached him, losing more and more substance the closer she came.

Inu-Yasha started to reach out for her, but as he did so he felt a warm sensation coming from all around him.  The crimson light began to pulse; with each pulse, it brightened from its dark color into a light red.

He looked again at Kagome's form, which was still coming towards him, but not gaining much ground.  He could still hear her voice, but it had become distant, echoing more in his mind than in his ear.

The light had become blindingly bright, everything fading into it.    An easy calmness swept through Inu-Yasha, and the tumultuous thoughts that had raged in confusion only moments before now settled down.  A tranquility subdued his emotions and feelings, and his memories dulled as if the light had faded them along with everything else.  A warmth seized him from behind, compelling him to turn around.  Slowly he twisted around, the warmth spreading all over him and settling deep within him.  His thoughts, though faint and unorganized, finally began to converge into one, clear realization.

_This is…death._

He didn't know why he knew, or what had happened, but none of that seemed to matter anymore.  He couldn't feel anything, or at least not in any way that he had ever known before.  His memories vanished; everything vanished, consumed by the bright void that surrounded him.  He felt as if everything that had held him together in life was about to be released into oblivion, and all he had to do was to let go of himself.

Let go… 

He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply as if he still had breath, and started to let his mind go blank.  Everything that he ever known, everything that he was, all of it was a heavy burden to him now that he had to set free.  He exhaled.

_Now._

Just then another sensation interrupted him, abruptly pulling him back.  The sensation, small yet warm, pricked at his dying senses and caused his thoughts to merge together again.

What? 

He brought his hand, heavy and cumbersome, up to his face.  His hand brushed against his cheek, another sensation spurring his thoughts back to life.

Rain…warm rain… 

He then heard a voice, faint, resonating within his mind.

"Look at me!"

He knew the voice, but couldn't recognize it.  For some reason he couldn't comprehend, he wanted to reach out to that voice.  Conflict tore through him, his will struggling against falling back into the deadly calmness, but at the same time wanting to.

"Please, look at me!"

He forced himself to listen, to make himself remember.  As he did, the warmth that had enveloped him had subsided, and a strange coldness began to creep in.  Memories rapidly flooded back, overwhelming him.  Experiences, places, things, people, all came rushing back in a blinding flash of consciousness.

Kagome… 

The thought of her name sparked visions of what he had seen before, her dark silhouette alighted against a dark sky, rain and wind raging around her.  It was all coming back to him, and he could her voice choking on sobs above the roar of the storm.  Her sad face loomed over his, tears streaming down her cheeks and falling on his.  _Her warm tears…_he thought.  _Just like…_

_Rain._

Everything fell into darkness.

Inu-Yasha opened his eyes.  Too bright to see anything at first, it took a moment to adjust to the soft light.  He looked around, and in a moment realized that he was in Kaede's hut.  He heard soft breathing to his side, and looked over to find Kagome sitting up against the wall asleep.  He started to make a move towards her, but a sharp pain shot up through his chest, temporarily paralyzing him.  He exhaled sharply, and the gripping pain dulled.

_Pain?_ he thought.

The unexpected motion next to her woke Kagome, and on finding Inu-Yasha awake, he could see an expression of relief spread over her face, her body straightened as if a weight had been lifted off of her.

"Inu-Yasha, are you okay?" she asked softly as she moved closer to him.

_I'm alive…_he thought.__

He was still groggy and weak, but even worse was his confusion.

"What happened?" his voice rasped as he found it difficult to breathe.

"We were attacked when we went to investigate a strange light in the forest not far from here a couple of days ago.  You were hurt pretty bad, and we weren't sure for a while whether or not you were going to make it…" her voice cracked as she started to choke up.

He watched her eyes puddle up, and she hung her head and he heard her sobbing softly.  The fatigue of the past couple of days seemed to finally catch up to her.  He laid his hand on hers, and took a deep breath.

"I'm fine now," he said quietly.

She looked back up, tears trickling down her face.  Some of the tears dripped onto his hand.  He looked at her and smiled.

"Everything's fine now."

The End

So there it is.  My first complete story…ever.  I hope the wait wasn't too excruciating- I tried to write it as fast as I could, but I didn't think this would be as hard as it was.  It ended up being very psychological, which made it very hard to get across the feelings and emotions and such.  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.  Any questions, comments, reviews, etc., feel free to email me at lena_iy@hotmail.com.  Thanks!


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